Sunday 2/23

Brazilian couple has been married 84 years and 85 days. They have more than a hundred grandkids. Photo from Google Images:

Born in Albuquerque the day after JFK’s assassination, Lauren Tarshis is the midst of a long run of literary success. A graduate of Barnard, she has published three works of non-fiction, two novels and 24 volumes of the I Survived series geared to grades three-five. Curious, I decided to try one, subtitled The American Revolution, 1776, the 15th in the series. It’s the story of an eleven-year-old boy who runs away from his only family, a wealthy, abusive uncle. He eventually finds himself in the bloody Battle of Brooklyn. The novella is a great introduction to that period of history. I’d be surprised if it satisfied adults, however. The 118 pages read like a lot less, given the large print and many black and white illustrations. I enjoyed it. Published in 2017 by Scholastic, it is still selling well, probably bought by schools. 4400+ users at Amazon have rated it, forging to a consensus of 4.8 on a scale of five. Two of the books in the series have been reissued as graphic novels, which I’d bet kids eat up. Tarshis also serves as a magazine editor at Scholastic. These days she and her family are living in Connecticut. Photo from GI:

Headline from nypost.com concerning Wisconsin: “Dem gov proposes changing ‘mother’ to ‘inseminated person’ in state law.” As soon as we change “politician” to “doofus.”

RIP actress Lynne Marie Stewart, 78. Born in L.A., her career spanned 1971–2023. There are 149 titles under her name at IMDb. She is best known for her work with Paul Reubens in the Pee Wee Herman movies and TV shows. She was in five episodes of M*A*S*H, ten of Husbands, Wives & Lovers, seven of Laverne & Shirley, 31 of Night Stand, eleven of Son of a Beach, 18 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She did voice-overs in animated series involving Superman, Scooby Doo and Batman. On the big screen she appeared in American Graffiti (1973), I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), The Running Man (1981), Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988), Clear and Present Danger (1994), Enough (2002), Bridesmaids (2011), to name a few. She has four writing credits, three involving Pee Wee Herman, the other her good friend Cindy Williams. Well done, Madam. Thank you. Photo from GI:

Not much action at the Anti-Inflation Book Shop on this gorgeous day. My thanks to local porter Robert, who donated a handful of books, and to my Constant Benefactress, who insisted on paying for Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen despite delivering several items; and to the young woman who bought a Russian translation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

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